Deputy Principal

As Week 8 of Term 1 draws to a close, I would like to reflect on some of our great initiatives as well as look ahead to Term 2.

SPIRIT SOARS, CULTURE ROARS

Most recently in the newsletter, I did make reference to the student leadership seminar we ran at school for our Student Representative Council (SRC) entitled “Stand Up, Speak Out, Stay Strong”. The students will be able to tell you that I often speak about the importance of standing up for what you believe in, calling out behaviour that is unacceptable, and maintaining a resilient and positive outlook on life. The guest speaker, Sonia Macdonald, spoke to these messages, focusing particularly on courage. 

During the seminar, our College Captains Kate and Niamh had the opportunity to speak to the SRC about the motto for this year and after some further discussions with the team the phrase “Spirit Soars, Culture Roars” was decided upon. This motto pays homage to House and College spirit, and the focus on continuing to build this, as well as the importance of student engagement in determining school culture, which ties in nicely with this year’s theme of Service. 

We saw this spirit in action the following week when our Year 12 Captains took on the Paduan Captains in their annual netball match. Our students took out the match, the first time since 2018. Well done! The Year 12 Captains along with the remainder of the SRC are working hard to find other opportunities to put this year’s motto into action.

GROWING CONNECTIONS

The recent netball match is a nice segueway to my next news item and the school’s emphasis on “growing connections” with Padua College. This term we had a couple of events where we had the opportunity to continue to build on these connections. The first was “The Better Relationships Project”, held on Wednesday 21 February, for the Year 9 students at both schools. The purpose of this project, run over one afternoon, was to engage students in positive interactions for the purpose of forming respectful relationships. More specifically, the project focused on gender norms and pressures in a world lived through social media and technology. Facilitated by Ben Russell and “The Better Journey” team, students were guided through the realities of their age, how the online world challenges these realities, the pressure on perfection, the myth of pornography, consent (both online and in person), and how respectful relationships can thrive in modern contexts.

I do want to take this opportunity to touch on some of the messaging around pornography. I was surprised to hear that 49% of girls have seen porn by the age of 15. This does certainly make conversations on this topic important, as does the fact that “if unchallenged, porn is sometimes seen as implicit as sex education”, as Ben explained to the students. This is particularly concerning given the misconceptions that Ben gave around pornography, including:

• This is what happens in real life.
• This is what women want.
• This is how men are supposed to act.
• Men and women are always up for it.

Pornography was also touched upon the following evening by the first speaker in our combined Mount Alvernia Padua parent engagement series, which is also part of our commitment to “grow connections” with our brother school. The speaker was Susan McLean, who is regarded as Australia’s foremost expert in the area of cyber safety and was a member of the Victoria Police for 27 years. She shared similar stats on pornography with the parent audience and did draw our attention to a great resource which talks to “porn not being the norm”: www.itstimewetalked.com.au.

Susan’s presentation was confronting to say the least and I think many of us rushed home to check up on what our young people were doing online. Some of her most alarming information was around sextortion which causes young people, in Susan’s words, to experience “the depths of despair”. Sextortion is a practice of extorting money by threatening to reveal information about someone of a sexual nature. These people usually work in gangs, and prey on innocent and vulnerable young people, pretending to be their friends. It can quickly lead to a young person being convinced to share an intimate photo and as a result being caught up in a web of deceit. According to Susan, 69% of 12 year olds have sent or received a sext, and children as young as five are filming themselves and posting it online. It is important that our young people know that there is “no such thing as an online friend”, according to Susan, and for parents, it is important that we know what our child is doing online and that we are regularly checking their account. “Remember, you are the gatekeepers to your child’s online world,” Susan said, “and it is okay to say ‘no’”.

Susan spoke about online grooming and cited the three worse social media platforms as TikTok, Snapchat and Discord. She applauded the work that Taskforce Argos has done in this area and implored parents to take the position that there is “Nothing so bad that your kids can’t talk to you”. She also spoke about deep fakes and the creation of nudes using AI, as well as the world of online gaming. In terms of screentime, it is not always about the time, but the content; in other words what our young people are consuming. 

Other advice that Susan offered parents was to make sure that digital cameras are out of bedrooms and bathrooms in an effort to make things “harder and less likely to happen”. She advised keeping evidence; reporting, blocking and deleting contacts; and involving the police where appropriate, including when it can’t be resolved by the school (if appropriate), if it involves fake accounts and when threats are being made. She warned parents that it is not about “set and forget” where young people are concerned or allowing them to play for long periods of time with their headphones on – it is important we know who they are interacting with, and that we monitor this. 

Susan was such a great resource in the area of cyber safety and we look forward to the other speakers in the parent series, with our next one being Dr Justin Coulson next term. Please stay tuned for more details.

WEBINAR FOR PARENTS 

A Focus on Adolescent Wellbeing

In addition to our combined Mount Alvernia/Padua parent series, our College Counsellors also run sessions for our parents each term honing in on particular topics, which are usually driven by data we collect around student mental health and wellbeing, including the reasons why students present to the Counsellors. Last year, each of the sessions was held on campus; this year we have decided to switch it up with the first session being available now as webinar, which can be located on the Educational Wellbeing tile on MyMtA. 

This initial session speaks more broadly to adolescent wellbeing, providing tips and strategies, and is helpful for parents as young people are in the process of navigating the early stages of the year. As the year progresses, the sessions will be more specific. Our Counsellors are highly trained and skilled professionals who have much experience in working with young people in the area of mental health and wellbeing so it is certainly worth a look.

STUDENT LEADERSHIP SOIREE

More recently, our Year 12 Captains participated in a leadership soiree along with student leaders from a number of other Brisbane secondary schools. The keynote speaker was Namrata Pingle, a young women in her 30s who dreamt big at school which saw her realise her aspirations later in life. Now working for the Australian Trade and Investment Commission, Namrata based her address to the students on her favourite quote by Eleanor Roosevelt: “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” Having migrated from India when she was young, Namrata was the only ethnic student at the time at her school and she didn’t feel as though she fit in as an Australian or an Indian. But inspired by her parents’ work ethic and their desire for a better life, Namrata threw herself into everything and always put her hand up. She found lots of rewards for this positive, can-do attitude.

Namrata experienced many life-changing events throughout her teen years, including being chosen to represent her school in the National Nine News Junior Reading Competition, which was the catalyst for studying Journalism; becoming a House Captain in Year 12; and winning many academic accolades. None of this came easy though and she spoke about the importance of being resilient and having “tunnel-vision” so to speak in pursuing your goals. 

Namrata’s love of social justice issues in Year 9 eventually led her to study Law, along with Journalism, and that was the beginning of many other life-changing opportunities. It was being selected as a volunteer media person for G20 that was a turning point for Namrata and a seed was planted for her future pathway: “Maybe there is a profession other than Journalism that is more influential.” After a time of confusion, Namrata moved to Canberra and worked in Government, and then moved to Brisbane permanently. Fast forward and she is now working at Austrade. 

I was inspired by Namrata’s attitude to life as well as some of her life lessons, key amongst these was the fact that “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” She advised our young people to accept rejection as a part of life and not to let others dictate their lives. She also emphasised the importance of being authentic. “When you are younger, you want to fit in, now I embrace my differences,” she said. 

Namrata talked about being flexible and open to new opportunities. “Be a yes person. Say yes and learn how to do it later,” she advised. She also spoke about the importance of having networks and a strong support system. “Make sure you choose wisely who your life partner is. Support each other and work as a team.” She finished with a strong message about courage, which echoed a message from the presenter at the Mount Alvernia Student Leaders Seminar earlier in the term. She said, “You need courage no matter what you pursue in life. Look fear in the eye.”

YEAR 12 FORMAL

Another important event was held this term – the Year 12 Formal. This was held on Saturday 2 March at Hillstone. Our Year 12 students had a fabulous time celebrating this important milestone, and enjoying time with their friends and the many staff who attended. 

It truly was a fabulous night, and we couldn’t be more proud of this cohort and the way they conducted themselves on the night as well as the lead up to the event. Professional photos taken at the Year 12 Formal are now available and Year 12 families can access these by following the steps below. 

ranaldsimmonds.com.au 

2024 Open Day

Looking ahead to Term 2, we have our annual Open Day coming up. This week we have put a call out to students to undertake the role of Tour Guide. This is a very important event for the College and the Tour Guide is a great opportunity for students to help us showcase the College. Please encourage your young person to fill out the form on MyMtA to register their interest.

So many great things have been happening at Mt A – it truly is a great place to be!